Boxed Macaroni Grill

JP made me some delicious pasta last night that came from a box! It was Macaroni Grill's Creamy Basil Pasta. We added shrimp, fresh spinach, and red bell pepper and enjoyed a glass of 2009 Alexander Valley Vineyard Cabernet. The entire meal was so scrumptious that we finished the entire meal between the 2 of us! It's a way of making a quick meal that is also price friendly. I highly recommend making this... Don't let the box trick u!

FuFu got a new menu!

JP and I have always been major fans of FuFu in Bellaire... In fact, I'm sure you can find an earlier entry about FuFu.
FuFu is open late which is really great for us since we work in the restaurant industry and get out hungry past 10 and 11pm. FuFu is open til 3am!
Before the new menu, JP and I would order the same entree every.single.te! They even approached our table knowing what we were going to order, "Mongolian beef with Chinese broccoli with wonton soup."
Then they came out with a new menu that includes pictures of each item listed and we branched out. We have tried each kind of clam and mussel dish that they have and it has become part of our regular ordering since I am obsessed with seafood! JP still orders his Mongolian beef with Chinese broccoli and they even added Vietnamese Eggrolls... Which if you have never had you should really give them a try... DELICIOUS! I took a few pics of our visit last night and as usual it was great!
The pics will include the Vietnamese Eggrolls and the Clams with Black Bean Sauce.
If you ever get a chance to try FuFu let me know! It's low prices and delicious food will have you thanking me for years!

Happy Eating,

Chez Beignets

So JP and I were craving some beignets last night and it was pretty late so I start calling up some places to find one.
We ended up going to Chez Beignets in Bellaire. It was really great and the prices super low.
We got a 1/2 order finger beignets and one regular beignet as well as some hot tea for our sore throats. The total came out to about $12 and we really enjoyed ourselves. We decided right then that Chez Beignets would become a regular hangout for us.
Great snack, low prices, and a comfortable atmosphere.

Let me know if you know of a better beignet place in Houston or your experience at Chez Beignets!

Happy Eating,

CILANTRO LIME SHRIMP

I found this recipe online and had to give it a try! I just absolutely love all seafoods, especially shrimp! I am always trying to cook lots of shrimp just because it is inexpensive and I feel like it is relatively healthy.

This next recipe is actually one of those healthy recipes so if you are on a diet or health-kick this recipe is one you can try, enjoy, and I think it would be perfect with any side. The shrimp can put on a salad, into a pasta, as a main dish with a couple of side dishes… or really however you like. The first time I made this I ate it just as and the second time I put it on a caesar salad. Both were excellent.

Hope you enjoy!

CILANTRO LIME SHRIMP

INGREDIENTS: (4 servings)
2 tsp olive oil
2 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan, when hot add shrimp. Season with salt and pepper.
2. When the shrimp is cooked on one side, about 2 minutes, turn over and add garlic. Sauté another minute or two until shrimp is cooked, careful not to overcook. 3. Remove from heat.
4. Squeeze lime all over shrimp and toss with cilantro.
5. Serve hot.

Don’t forget to tell me what you think once you try it out! And if you have any suggestions on recipes or have anything to say please don’t be shy!

HAPPY EATING!

GINGER AND CILANTRO BAKED TILAPIA

My favorite fish is tilapia. I am always looking for new tilapia recipes when I came across one on Pinterest.com that just blew my mind away! This recipe is not only one that you must try, but I promise it will end up being one you will make over and over again!

When I first decided to make this dish I was a little reluctant since it called for 'ginger' and I am not too familiar with cooking with that ingredient. I decided to go for the meal anyway just because it looked so great in the picture and I had a few tilapias just waiting to be cooked!

(The original recipe came from http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/main-dish/recipe-ginger-and-cilantro-baked-tilapia-024737)

My version of this amazing recipe is as follows... plus as I always say... when you find a great recipe WRITE IT DOWN! you never know when/if a website might disappear.

GINGER AND CILANTRO BAKED TILAPIA
serves 2, or 1 with leftovers

2 large fillets (I use the frozen packaged kind from Kroger or WalMart)
1 jalapeno pepper (this gives it the perfect amount of spicy!)
3 garlic cloves (I had actually used a 1/3 cup amount bc I misread the recipe and it still turned out great!)
1 inch grated ginger (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine (I used a chardonney that I wouldnt mind drinking the rest later)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Green onions, chopped for garnish
Extra cilantro, to garnish

Heat the oven to 475F. Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a glass baking dish.

Chop the pepper and garlic, and grate the ginger. Put in a small food processor with the soy sauce, white wine, and cilantro. Whir unitl blended. Pour the sauce over the fish, rubbing it in a little. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through.

Serve immediately over brown rice, garnished with chives and cilantro.

I served this meal on a bed of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil. Which was actually my firs time cooking Uncle Ben's rice and it was so great! The rice alone is just so full of flavor, soft, moist, a perfect fit for this entree.
I also prepared Sauteed Garlic Spinach as another side. I always love this side dish.

Upon eating the meal I was very nervous because I forgot to buy a back-up meal. (I always prepare myself!) But this meal was spot on amazing. It blew my mind how jam-packed full of flavor this fish had. Every bite was another treat for my taste-buds and I was very excited about my extra fish I had prepared. NOW I HAD A GREAT LUNCH FOR TOMORROW! I had the leftovers the next day and again, amazing. I even reheated it in the microwave which is something I try not to do very often.

This recipe is def going to be one for the books! I shared it with my sister-in-law who plans on making this dish as well. I will update this entry when I find out her opinion of it!

Let me know if you try this recipe! And when you do share your pics and comments!

HAPPY EATING!

she's a VEGAN-izer.

So I have these 2 incredible friends (Sarah and Ryan Patterson) who have recently decided to go Vegan. I myself am too much in love with Milk, eggs, meat, butter, seafood, etc. to ever go vegan. So because of my lack of ever wanting to be vegan I have never ever made a Vegan meal in my life. Well Sarah & Ryan were in town and I decided to make us a Vegan meal. I was very weary of the idea, I was even trying to come up with some backup meal (you know when you burn dinner you order pizza...?) but pizza has cheese and that is not vegan. so I couldn't even think of a backup meal... so this dinner had to be good!

I went to Kroger and bought a bunch of veggies. I mean things I have never bought, cooked, or even thought of making. Afterwards I looked online for eggplant ideas. I have cooked eggplant before and knew that about "sweating" them but the dishes I have made before were vegetarian, not vegan. The recipes online called for items I have never heard of, time constraints that I didn't have, and to be honest, I wanted to use what I already had... so long story short, I just decided to just throw something together. Then I tried to find vegan stuffed mushrooms. I actually found a recipe online that looked easy, had great reviews, and I had all the items required. (That recipe is at: http://www.veganpiggy.com/2010/05/vegan-stuffed-mushrooms.html) and my side dish I had already thought up. It was time to get busy in the kitchen!

So my menu ended up being Baked eggplant with spinach, tomato sauce, topped with sprouts; stuffed mushrooms; and a vegetable medley side dish. When I make this next comment I am not trying to be cocky whatsoever about my cooking skills but DANG! if being vegan taste like this then sign me up! haha Seriously... this meal was stellar. It was so good in fact that I made it again for lunch and have even considered trying to go vegan just because its a healthier choice. have I officially gone mad??

Stuffed Mushrooms:
the recipe is under the link above. but since I didn't use all 1.5lbs I will go ahead and list my recipe. besides, who knows if that recipe will somehow get lost in the future. and this recipe is one you def don't want to lose!

6 baby portobello mushrooms (2 for each person, although they were so good that I probably should have made more!)
bread crumbs (I used whole wheat ones... and I didn't measure... I just kind of added what I felt looked good)
extra virgin olive oil (again, sorry, I just don't measure things)
I took my red onion, chopped up about 1/5 of it
I used more garlic since I LOVE garlic... I actually used 3 cloves (1 pressed, 1 chopped, 1 sliced)
sea salt (didn't measure just sprinkled it)
dried parsley (not fresh only because I didn't have it and again, not exact measure)
dried basil (no exact measure again)
(on the parsley and basil I just sprinkle what I think looks good... you will see on most of my recipes I just don't measure things... I apologize if it is an inconvenience)

Preheat oven 375 F.

Remove stems from mushroom caps and chop them up and set aside.
Sautee chopped up red onion and garlic with olive oil on medium heat for a few minutes.
Add chopped mushroom stems, salt, basil, parsley, and bread crumbs and stir together in the skillet for about 2-3 minutes.
(be sure not to add too much bread crumbs or they will be dry... add slowly and discreetly)
Bake for 30-45 minutes, keep on eye that they don't get too brown. Crispy on top is good!


BAKED EGGPLANT:

1 medium eggplant (sliced lengthway 1/4 inch and then "sweated" them for an hour- sweated will be described later)
2 tomatoes sliced 1/5 inch- you can slice them however large or small you want
1/2 bundle of fresh spinach sauteed with sprinkle of salt (very lite on the salt!!)
1- 8oz can of Hunt's tomato sauce
dried basil (just a few sprinkles)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp of Nature's Seasoning (the measurement is an educated guess of what I think I used)
spicy sprouts
bread crumbs
extra olive oil (or water)

Preheat oven 375 F

On medium heat stir together your 8oz can of tomato sauce, basil, bay leaf, and nature's seasoning for 5 minutes.
Lower the heat to Lo and let it simmer while you work on other parts of your menu.

I took my already "sweated" eggplants and patted them dry with a paper towel.
I used extra virgin olive oil and dipped them in that and then dipped them in the bread crumbs.
I placed them on a non-stick cooking tray and placed them in the oven for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes take out the eggplant and add your tomato, spinach, a spoonful of tomato sauce (you don't need too much), and top with some spicy sprouts.

Place in the oven for 30-45 minutes.

WHAT IS "SWEATING" AN EGGPLANT?

After cutting up your eggplant place each slice on a paper towel and add sea salt to both sides. Let this sit for about an hour. You will notice it to sweat (i.e. a watery discharge will appear). This makes the eggplant taste less bitter and your meal will be even more fantastic. About 1/2way through I flip them over onto new paper towels.
You can see how other people do it online by googling it.



VEGETABLE MEDLEY:

1 squash (sliced)
1 zucchini (sliced)
1/2 head of broccoli crowns
extra virgin olive oil (or water)
7spice seasoning (sprinkle in a nice amount, not too little, not too much) -sorry for no exact measurement
(I added asparagus the next day.... just 4 of them... you can use whatever veggies you prefer)

On lo-med heat stir in all of the ingredients.
I place a lid on top and watch it to stir it around.
This should be made last and at the very end. Shouldn't need to be cooked for more than 7 minutes. tops.

ENJOY THE MEAL!

Let me know what you think!!!

THE CLAY PIT IN ATX

So on my mini-circle of Texas trip I was in ATX. I had talked to a guy who told me about how Austin had many Food Trailers and that I could find just about anything including Indian Food. So when JP was getting Franklin Barbeque I kept my hunger pains for an Indian Trailer... which ended up being closed. I was completely bummed out and ended up NOT enjoying the pizza I had decided on. Later that night we were trying to decide what to eat and like we always do we were looking up online foods to eat in Austin that had great ratings. We couldn't decide what we wanted to eat and I was like ya know... I still want my Indian Food. The Indian Trailer I wanted to try wasn't open at all on Tuesdays and so JP found The Clay Pit. It had great ratings online and so we decided we would eat there. Upon arriving the outside of the building was nothing what we expected... although I am not sure what we really expected haha... I love the building it is in. We were sat in a back room, given water, and we looked through the menu. I hate that I can't remember our servers name but she was a doll and totally on top of things, I had many questions about the menu and she was super informative, and she had greeted us with a smile and told us that the wines were 1/2 priced up to $90. Before she told us that I don't think we would have ordered anything but water... but we love wine and so we decided to take a look. We ended up choosing a 2006 Jordan Cabernet that is regularly priced at $85 but on Mondays and Tuesdays for 1/2 price that would lower it to $42.50- which is the lowest price I have seen yet- you can't even go into Specs without paying $46.95! So it was a steal of a deal and quite delicious too! They served us with this flat bread chip like thing haha along side a green and red sauce... I also wish I had the name of that as well... for it was tasty! We ordered the crab cake appetizer which came out nicely with a delicious green sauce. The crab cake was an Indian perfection. Which I am not sure I should say. I say it is an "Indian perfection" only because when we were served I was quite ecstatic but JP was a little bummed out. He was expecting a traditional crab cake; however, I had no expectations since Indian food really isn't something I eat very often. We both agreed it tasted great.... I like to say that they took the traditional crab cake and made it their own because the seasonings and overall taste was just not something you usually get in a crab cake. LOVED them... and that sauce it was accompanied with was heavenly. As for our entrees I chose the Vindaloo which from their menu describes it as " a zesty curry sauce cooked with onions, bell peppers & potatoes, infused with paprika & tamarind chutney". I ordered this with the lamb and the temperature Hot, and I was quite impressed with it all. JP ordered the Rack of Lamb Medium which was packed with flavor and more tender than a filet! I have tried lamb before from other restaurants and never really enjoyed it but the Clay Pit knows exactly how to prepare lamb so that it melts in your mouth and has you begging for more. Def best lamb I have had and Indian food. We are def going to go back next time we are in Austin. We aren't much for desserts so we passed on that but we were so impressed with everything from the food to the wine and the service and the water lady! When we got our bill of $85 we were shocked- this great of a meal and only $85!?! We will be back again. And you all should def go there soon!